Michael Francis Dei-Anang (October 1909 – 1977) was a Ghanaian civil servant, writer, poet, and novelist.

Early life and education

Dei-Anang was born in October 1909 at Akwapim-Mampong. His ancestral roots in Akwapim-Mampong link him to the Akyepere Clan(Quarter). He was thus related to Nana John Kwame Ayew who was the Chief Cocoa Farmer on the Gold Coast and played a key role in making cocoa a global industrial crop. He had his secondary education at Mfantsipim School where he graduated in 1930 as the

head prefect The two Senior Prefects, individually called Head Boy (for the male), and Head Girl (for the female) are students who carry leadership roles and are responsible for representing the school's entire student body. Although mostly out of use, in some ...

of the 1930 batch of students. He then joined the

Accra Academy Accra Academy is a Single-sex education, boys' high school located at Bubuashie near Kaneshie in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. It admits both boarding and day students. Founded as a private school in 1931, it gained the status of a Government ...

in 1931 as a pioneer member of the teaching staff and taught there for a period of six months prior to entering

Achimota College Achimota School ( /ɑːtʃimoʊtɑː/ ), formerly Prince of Wales College and School at Achimota, later Achimota College, now nicknamed Motown, is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. The school ...

in 1932 for his intermediate bachelor's degree. He later proceeded to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to study at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

Career

After his tertiary education Dei-Anang returned to the Gold Coast in 1939 and joined the Gold Coast civil service. Dei-Anang worked in various ministries. Following Ghana's independence, Dei-Anang was Secretary to the Governor-General of Ghana from 1957 to 1959 and permanent secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1959 to 1961. In 1961 he retired from the civil service and was appointed ambassador extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary and put in charge of the African Affairs Secretariat at the Office of the President. He was Kwame Nkrumah's foremost presidential advisor on African issues. In 1966 when the

Nkrumah government Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the first Prime Minister of Ghana, Prime Minister and first President of Ghana. Nkrumah had run governments under the supervision of the British government through Charles Arden-Clarke, the Governor-General. His first gover ...

was overthrown, he was imprisoned for two months. After his release, he moved to the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

where he taught at Brockport College. His literary works focused on Ghanaian myths and traditions with particular focus on the

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan languages, a language group within the wider Central Tano languages *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano language ...

culture. Dei-Anang died in 1977.

Works

* ''Wayward Lines from Africa'' (1946) * ''Cocoa Comes to Mampong: Brief Dramatic Sketches Based on the Story of Cocoa in the Gold Coast'', play (1949) * ''Africa Speaks'' (1959) * ''Okomfo Anokye's Golden Stool'', play, (1959) * ''Ghana Semitones'' (1962) * ''Ghana Glory: Poems on Ghana and Ghanaian Life'', poetry collection (1965)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dei-Anang, Michael 1909 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Ghanaian writers Mfantsipim School alumni People from Eastern Region (Ghana)